At the palace, the Doflamingo that was decapitated turns out to be a puppet controlled by the real Doflamingo, who almost kills Kyros before Luffy saves him. After a brief fight with Luffy, the Shichibukai announces a new tragedy that will be more terrible that was unwillingly committed by King Riku.

After Pica forces Luffy and his group out of the palace, the puppet Doflamingo unravels and transforms into a massive cage made of strings, preventing anyone from leaving Dressrosa. Law reveals to Luffy that Doflamingo plans to kill everyone before the truth of Doflamingo's treachery gets out. Everywhere on Dressrosa, the island inhabitants began to attack each other, while the Palace and the SMILE factory are lifted above the ground on top of the hills, Doflamingo then announces to the panicking public his ultimatum: kill the targets or die trying.

The heads of the factory observe as the ex-toys try to invade the SMILE Factory, and are confident that they won't succeed in destroying Doflamingo's most prized building because it is made of Seastone and is guarded by Diamante and Trebol, who have already beaten many ex-toys.

In the trading port, Sabo, Koala, and Hack meet with Robin, who was revealed to be acquainted with all three of them. Robin introduces them to Usopp, whose beaten-up face creeps them out. Meanwhile, Kin'emon hurriedly exits the palace, using his Doflamingo disguise to get through the crowd. And on the Royal Plateau, in front of the Rampart Tower, Zoro continues searching fruitlessly for Pica.

Inside the royal palace, Kyros is enraged at the decapitated Doflamingo being alive, and rushes at him to finish the job. However, another Doflamingo suddenly appears behind him, ready to return the favor and properly demonstrate how to decapitate someone. Doflamingo then unleashes a giant kick which severs the palace tower from the rest of the building, but Luffy manages to pull Kyros out of harm's way. Both the real and the decapitated Doflamingo rise to attack Luffy, which shocks Baby 5, but Luffy dodges their strike. Forgiving Kyros for letting his guard down, Luffy attacks Doflamingo with the Gomu Gomu no Jet Gatling. However, Doflamingo is unharmed due to covering his body in Busoshoku Haki, and the decapitated Doflamingo cuts Luffy with his string powers. Finally, Doflamingo finishes the fight by punching Luffy in the face with a Haki-embued fist.

The shocked Kyros and Viola wonder who the decapitated Doflamingo really is, and Viola thinks that it is some kind of marionette. Doflamingo then asks King Riku if he remembers how he was forced to kill his own subjects 10 years ago; which confuses and enrages the former king, questioning his motives for bringing that incident up. Doflamingo replies to Riku's outraged expression by saying what was going to happen now would make that event seem pleasant in comparison. Riku is unwilling to let Doflamingo do something like that, but is unable to do anything before Doflamingo orders Pica to remove his opposition from the palace. Pica gladly complies and throws everyone out with a giant stone hand, and they fall to the ground dozens of feet below. While falling, Riku begs Doflamingo not to harm Dressrosa any further as he, Viola, Kyros, and Law land on Luffy's Balloon. The five of them watch from the Tower Gardens, unable to get back to the palace, as the decapitated Doflamingo marionette splits into dozens of strings, beginning Bird Cage.

Law tells Luffy, Viola, and Kyros that Doflamingo's bird cage will trap all the people on Dressrosa, slaughtering them before they can get the word out on Doflamingo's actions. Every citizen in Dressrosa panics as the strings envelop the island, and one pirate's attempt to escape reveals that trying to break through will end up cutting the escapee. With the strings enveloping the entire country, it appears as if everyone is in a giant cage, with no exit. The Marines attempt to contact headquarters and quickly realize that the cage is blocking all transmissions, and some of them suddenly start to attack Dressrosa citizens, having lost control of their actions due to Doflamingo controlling them with Parasite. The chaos then only gets worse as Pica causes the Royal Palace, the SMILE Factory, and Flower Hill to lift off the ground. Doflamingo then broadcasts his voice across Dressrosa, telling the citizens that he should have ruled like a tyrant all those ten years. He then invites any enemies of his to either try and kill him, or kill his targets in order to survive.

Random people under the influence of Doflamingo's Parasite have begun attacking indiscriminately.

Doflamingo initiates his "Bird Cage" plan, which involves trapping everyone on Dressrosa and forcing them into a survival game. The game ends when someone either takes his head or brings him the heads of everyone he tells them.